In a season expected to be a record-breaker for the hotel sector, real estate investment maintains its pace, with a focus on luxury establishments. According to consultant CBRE, the first half of the year closed with an outlay of almost 100 million euros in 5-star and 5-star grand luxury hotels. This figure represents 36% of all investment registered between January and June, above the national average (30%).
The main operations of the semester in the Catalan capital have been the purchases made by Atom, Bankinter and GMA's SOCIMI, of two 5-star grand luxury hotels, La Florida, in Tibidabo, and Miramar, in Montjuïc, two unique properties that until now belonged to Lebanese investor Joseph Boutros El Khoury. With 145 rooms in total, the operation was settled for 50 million euros. The acquisitions were accompanied by management changes, with the Dubai-based Sunset Hospitality group taking over La Florida and the international hotel chain Hyatt, the Miramar. Atom invested for the first time in the city in 2022 with the purchase for 25.5 million of the Ilunion Les Corts, formerly Senator Barcelona, an operation that was also the SOCIMI's first after the pandemic.
In addition to the operations led by Atom, this first half of the year saw the sale of the Ocean Drive Barcelona by OD Hotels, owned by Ibizan businessman Marc Rahola Matutes. The identity of the new owner of the Ocean Drive Barcelona, a five-star hotel on Aragó street with 98 rooms, is not yet known. Beyond the city limits, the Hampton by Hilton Barcelona Fira Gran Via hotel, in Plaza Europa in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, has also changed hands. It was bought by the British family office London & Regional for 50 million from real estate investment manager ASG, who had opened it three years ago after an investment of 40 million euros.
Nevertheless, the hotel sector has attracted an investment of 285 million euros this semester in Barcelona. This represents a 34% drop compared to a year ago, when the outlay was above 1,100 million euros, but it should be noted that in the first six months of 2023 there were large sales such as those of the Mandarin Oriental Barcelona for a record amount of 240 million euros and the Sofía Barcelona for 180 million euros. A year ago, the highest category hotels achieved 96% of the total transacted from January to June.
Despite the decrease in the global amount, Barcelona is positioned as the second preferred location in Spain for investors. It accounts for 21% of the national total, only behind the Balearic Islands, which registers 29%. The Catalan capital has closed twelve operations in the first six months of the year, covering almost 1,200 rooms. A figure that doubles the six transactions registered in the same period of 2023 in the city, with just over 1,000 rooms. For the Director of Hotels in Iberia at CBRE, Jorge Ruiz, "these data reflect the good momentum in investment in the hotel sector thanks to the closing of medium-volume operations", which means that there are not as many portfolio rotations as a year ago.